Source: InternetNZ
The number of New Zealanders concerned about misinformation has increased significantly, a new study shows.
65% of New Zealanders surveyed said they were either extremely or very concerned about information that is misleading or wrong, up from 59% in the previous year.
InternetNZ Chief Executive, Vivien Maidaborn, believes New Zealanders are right to be aware and worried about the rise of mis and disinformation.
“Internet users in Aotearoa deserve information that is accurate and not intended to mislead. This is a systemic issue, and there are multiple issues that the government needs to act on. The longer they leave it, the more New Zealanders will be harmed as a result,” Maidaborn said.
68% of women surveyed, and 73% of those aged 70+ were shown to be the groups most concerned, with Māori and Pasifika 60% and 65% respectively.
Maidaborn says that the perpetrators of mis and disinformation have shifted focus since the pandemic and now target marginalised groups within society.
“Since COVID, the key perpetrators of disinformation – people who spread wrong information purposefully – have worked to generalise their disinformation message from health to many other areas including the environment, parliamentary processes and democracy, race and racism.”
People aged 18-29 were the least-concerned age group, but still registered a rate of 58% either extremely or very concerned about information that is misleading or wrong.
The annual Internet Insights research encompasses a range of topics, including internet use, concerns, online safety, and Artificial Intelligence.
Key findings from the report: A huge amount of our personal time is spent on the Internet. More than a quarter of New Zealanders (27%) spend five hours or more on the Internet for personal use. The majority of New Zealanders (63%) spend two to four hours a day using the Internet outside of work. While using the Internet for leisure, almost half of us (48%) spend most of that time on social media. The next popular online activities are email (40%) and streaming services (39%). Social media habits appear to be changing – New Zealanders have dropped their daily use of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. While these huge social platforms still consume most of our personal Internet use, our daily use has dropped this year. However, Facebook Messenger and TikTok remain the same. New Zealanders are divided on whether they think the Internet has a positive impact on our cultural beliefs and values. 37% of New Zealanders think the Internet has a positive impact on our cultural beliefs and values. But 28% think it has a negative impact. Women are more likely to think it has a negative effect than men. We see a significant decline in people thinking that the positives of the Internet outweigh the negatives. Since last 2022, the number of people who think the positives of the Internet outweigh the negatives has dropped from 84% to 80%. This number has been declining since 2019. For Māori it is 75% and for Pasifika peoples it’s only 63%. Too many people have personally experienced online harm or harassment. Nearly one in five New Zealanders say they have personally experienced online harm or harassment. The number increases for certain groups. For young people aged 18-29 it jumps to 24% and for Māori it’s 25%. And 29% of people with a long-term disability or impairment have personally experienced online harm or harassment. A lot of New Zealanders are concerned about AI. Four out of five New Zealanders know ‘at least’ a little bit about artificial intelligence (AI). We asked these people how they felt about AI and 42% said they are more concerned than excited. About the report Each year InternetNZ commissions market research company Verian to survey New Zealanders about their use, benefits, concerns, and fears regarding the Internet. InternetNZ will continue to commission this research each year to demonstrate what people think today, and how their thinking changes over time. About InternetNZ InternetNZ | Ipurangi Aotearoa operates the .nz domain space. We ensure all domain names ending with .nz are available for people and businesses in Aotearoa to function and thrive online. We’re a not-for-profit organisation. The money we receive from .nz domain names goes back into the community. We provide grants, help to fund other organisations, and advocate for an accessible and safe Internet that benefits everyone in Aotearoa.
